Sunday, January 25, 2015

JOE FRANKLIN

We lost an American icon today. Joe Franklin passed at the age of 88. Joe and i had been friends for quite a while. We met at one of the Al Jolson Society's annual get together in Oceanside, N.Y. Recently, Joe and I were at work on a new book Joe named " Star Maker" about the people who made other people famous by exposing one of those he had interviewed on one of his shows. Joe started his career at radio station WNEW in New York where he was the record picker and music librarian for the great Martin Block for his famous"Make Believe Ballroom"radio show. There he met Al Jolson , who told him to throw away the record selection "Movin Man', Don't Take My Baby Grand" but he refused.

Joe has claimed he interviewed some 300,000 guests from Barbra Streisand to Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra three times. His radio named Memory Lane lasted longer than any other show. The television show began in 1950 and ran 43 consecutive years. His favorite was Bing and Kathryn Crosby. Read it word for word in my book prize-winning book "Bing Crosby - Crooner of the Century."

Joe and I were getting together this upcoming Spring to work on the book.

I will miss Joe and the many radio discussions we had over the years. We did a one hour interview on Bloomberg Radio not too long ago.

The King of Nostalgia was truly the King with his many books and endless radio and television shows that helped many a aspiring show business hopeful get started. I will continue to finish the book was started"Star Maker." Look for it Sping 2015.

Welcome to Richard Grudens' Big Band Blog

As a Big Band author, I have written 14 books about the subject that covers the vocalists, musicians, band leaders, arrangers, and associates, including my new best seller Star Dust - The Bible of the Big Bands, a book with over 700 pages and 650 terrific photographs. We will be putting together weekly articles about those folks who made up the Big Band era - many of whom I have personally interviewed.

You'll find never before seen photographs and articles that have not appeared in any of my books as yet. You will find many of them here for your personal enjoyment - mostly current stories and some about the past that include the greats like Benny Goodman, Harry James, Glenn Miller, and all of the other great band leaders.Try to follow me each week to learn about these people and perhaps you may want to contribute comments and facts of your own.

For instance, did you know that Kitty Kallen who lives in NJ has taken up permanent residence in her long time villa in Mexico where she used to Summer only. Did you know that Doris Day continues to nurture her four-leggers at her Carmel, CA ranch and has pretty much put her career behind her? Why she won't even answer the phone anymore.

Stay tuned, as they used to say on the radio -- but don't turn that dial, keep it focused on my blog and I'll be seeing you.

Bio

Richard Grudens worked his way up from a studio page at NBC’s studio in New York to writing for the news shows of H.V. Kaltenborn, John Cameron Swayze, News of the World, and the “Today” show.
Feature writing for Long Island P.M. Magazine led him to his first book “The Best Damn Trumpet Player - Memories of the Big Band Era.
He has written countless magazine articles on such diverse subjects as industrialist Henry Ford, VE Day, Motorcycle Helmet Safety, DNA history and many other interesting subjects. Some of his credits include:
- Wild West Magazine: Interview with legendary cowboy star Gene Autry (1995);
- California Highway Patrol Magazine, a treatise on The Beach Boys;
- World War II Magazine: Cover Story about Bob Hope’s famous USO tours;
- Many articles on Bing Crosby and Bob Hope and much more.
Richard and wife Madeline enjoy life on Long Island and look forward to bringing you many more books on the Big Band era and beyond.